The present disclosure relates broadly and generally to a mechanical creel safety latch, overhead pivoted bobbin creel, and method for loading and unloading an overhead pivoted bobbin creel. In exemplary embodiments, the present safety latch may be incorporated in an overhead bobbin creel designed for holding thread bobbins (or yarn packages) in a spinning or cabling machine, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,932,198—the complete disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Examples of prior art creels are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,175,717 and 4,932,198. The complete disclosure of these prior patents is incorporated herein by reference.
Textile yarn processing machines require a supply of unprocessed yarn. Many such machines are supplied with yarn drawn from one of a large number of packages (or bobbins) mounted in a creel structure standing near to the machine. Reserve packages are generally mounted adjacent each supply package, and the two packages have their yarn ends joined so that yarn is automatically transferred to the reserve package when the first package is exhausted. The exhausted package is then replaced by a new full package which then becomes the reserve package. In this manner, the supply of unprocessed yarn to each station of the yarn processing machine is continuously maintained.
The issue of temporarily securing bobbin creels in a lowered position during placement of heavy thread bobbins on spindles is known in the art. As discussed in prior U.S. Pat. No. 7,353,646, certain cabling machines are provided with a plurality of cabling stations. Each cabling station has a bobbin creel, with each bobbin creel in turn having a creel support arm supporting the bobbin creel and associated spindles upon which cord or thread bobbins are mounted. Because of the relatively high weight of bobbins filled with cord, the upper bobbin creels are designed with bobbin creel support arms or members pivotally mounted and enabled to be pulled downward to a location approximately chest high so as to minimize a height to which the loaded bobbins must be lifted by workers for mounting on the spindles supported by the bobbin creel. The remainder of U.S. Pat. No. 7,353,646 is incorporated herein by reference.